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Sunday, June 5, 2011

Would the real consultants for this project stand up, please?

A different type of redundancy from the one I described yesterday.

Not an unusual set-up, have seen it on numerous projects in recent times and in many countries.

There is a team of design consultants. Then, there is a team of client representative design consultants. And then another group for the contractor and not unusually, yet another for the PM company too.

So, a project could boast to have 4 design architects, 4 interior designers, 4 MEP engineers (or more if broken into further disciplines), 4 structural engineers, landscape designers and so on and so on...

Reminds me of an old well loved quiz, where the contestants had to guess which one of 3 claimants was the correct person. They could ask questions of all 3 and make a choice.

At the end, the host would ask the real XYZ to stand up...

If you were a building owner observing the delivery of your own building, would this give you extra confidence? Many hands make light work? Surely, so much expertise can be very beneficial? Or do you end up with the case of too many cooks spoil the broth?

Sadly, the latter seems to be the case, and not because too many parties try taking charge, more likely none wanting to carry the responsibility.